
Tony Lepore was born on October 17, 1947. He lived most of his childhood on the
West Side of Providence. It was called "Silver Lake" which was one of the areas in
Providence where Italian immigrants settled. Tony is one of three brothers. He has
an older brother John, and a younger brother. Bob. Tony is what we call the "middle
child". That explains it. While Tony was growing up he was always showing off by
dancing or singing or jumping off the second floor roof of his house. He tried many
things, like going off a ski jump on a sled. He ended up cracking his kneecap. He
was always getting hurt trying some dare devilish stunt. Deep inside he always
wanted to be a performer, but most of all he liked to make people laugh, even though
he sometimes got into trouble with his antics. Tony also used to put on skits for his
family with memorized comedy's he saw on TV He would perform different dance
steps besides mimicking various performers. He was kind of a class clown as well
as a pretty good student.
He attended Ralph St. School, St Anthony's School, Perry Junior High, and he grad-
uated Mount Pleasant High in 1967. In the 1950s and 60s a youngster such as Tony
really had no avenue to pursue his goals, like children of today. He thought that being
an actor was a fantasy and so did his folks. They thought those people in show business
were special; and were born into the business, or were discovered some how. So, Tony,
at the age of 18 joined the U.S. Army, and in l968, was sent to Viet Nam. He was one of
the lucky ones to make it back. He had a burning desire inside of him and was unaware
of what this pent up feeling was, so he compensated with adventurous careers and
activities. After the service he married and needed a job. At the time, the Providence Police
Department was hiring. Tony never had a real desire as a youngster to be a policeman,
but did like the excitement that the job brought. Tony spent nine years on night duty. He
received many citations for outstanding arrests and two metals of valor in separate
incidents. In one of the incidents, an auto flipped off the Glenbridge Ave. bridge and landed
in the frigid water below. It was a cold day in February in 1973 when Tony and another
officer jumped into the river and rescued two teenage girls.
The other mishap was when a building exploded in the outskirts of the city and Tony, along
with other officers rescued workers from the rubble before a second explosion. In 1981, Tony
went from night duty to day duty in the downtown area. He patrolled the area on foot, and one
of his duties along with two other officers was to take turns directing traffic at noon on the cor-
ner of Westminster and Dorrance Streets. He directed traffic the traditional way for two years,
and one day in 1984, he got bored. He remembered once watching a clip on "Candid Camera"
of some officers in N.Y. in the 50s flamboyantly directing traffic, and thought it was quite enter-
taining. So, all of a sudden that little boy who was pent up inside came out. His routine was
simple. A half spin and some fancy hand movements and before long the Providence Journal
had a front page spread titled; "Making traffic flow with a flair". He didn't know how his superiors
were going to react, but the public reaction was so positive they went along with it. At that mo-
ment in 1984, the Dancing Cop was born. In 1988, he had 17yrs service with the force, so he
bought his three years service time back and he retired. He went into business with his brother
John running a food and vending service. In July of 1992, Tony got a call from a Providence
Journal reporter who wanted to write an article about him. It was titled " What ever happen to". In
the article he was asked if he would come back if he could, and he answered; "it would be some-
thing I would have to think about". He didn't make anything of it until he got a call from Mayor
Cianci`s office inquiring if he would consider coming back for the Christmas Season. After a long
consideration he decided to make a comeback. From that day forward, the Dancing Cop was re-
born and the rest is history. Tony is enjoying his second career with his wife who manages most
of his affairs.
Tony has two children Tony, Jr., and Corinne. Tony, Jr., is presently living in Florida enjoy a
teaching profession. Corinne is a "Banker" who has two beautiful children Angelina and Julia.
Yes, "Tony The Dancing Cop" is a grandpa. He is enjoying his second career with his wife who
manages his business, and they live in the Darlington section of Pawtucket, RI.
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